comprehension; however, the sentiments they contained did much towards her mental development. When twelve years old, she read to her father the well-known "Tracts for the Times" and became an adherent of the religious movement they originated. Her education was conducted in an unmethodical manner, and the principal part was derived from reading instructive books. When Miss Huddleston was seventeen, she attended a celebrated school in Glasgow, Scotland, but she derived very little knowledge from that source. When about eighteen she was married to Robert Barr, the son of Rev. John Barr, of Dovehill Kirk, whose writings are still published. Mr. and Mrs. Barr came to America a few years after their marriage and traveled in the West and South. When the yellow fever broke out in 1856, they were in New Orleans, but, fearing to remain there, they left for Texas, settling in Austin, where Mr. Barr received an appointment in the comptroller's office. After the Civil War
AMELIA E. BARR.
they removed to Galveston. In 1876 the yellow fever broke out there, and Mr. Barr and their four sons were stricken and died. Mrs. Barr and her three daughters were spared, and, as soon as it was safe, they went to New York. Mrs. Barr took a letter of introduction to a merchant, who directly engaged her to assist in the education of his three sons. She instructed them in ancient and modern literature, music and drawing. When her pupils went to Princeton, Mrs. Barr sought advice from Rev, Henry-Ward Beecher, who was then editor of the "Christian Union." He was very encouraging, and she began to write for that paper and has continued to write for its columns. Mr. Beecher introduced her to Dr. Lyman Abbott, through whom she met the Harper Brothers, for whose periodicals she wrote for a number of years. In 1884 she was confined to her chair by an accident, which seemed to be a fortunate one, however, for during that time she wrote her first novel, "Jan Vedder's Wife." In 1885, it was bought and published by a New York house, who have since published her novels. Her first book attracted general notice and gave her an instantaneous success. It ran through many editions and has been widely read on both sides of the sea, and in more than one language. Since 1885 Mrs. Barr has published numerous stories. Scotland has furnished the scene of four of them; two have dealt with life in the English manufacturing districts. "The Border Shepherdess" (1887) lived in a long-debated territory between Scotland and England. "Feet of Clay" (1880) carried its readers to the Isle of Man. "Friend Olivia," a study of Quaker character, which appeared in 1890 in the "Century," recalled the closing years of the Commonwealth in England. "The Bow of Orange Ribbon" (1856) is a charming picture of life in New York in the days when Dutch manners and habits were still in their prime. "Remember the Alamo" (1888) recalls the stirring episode of the revolt of Texas against the Mexican rule. "She Loved a Sailor" combines pictures of sea life with darker scenes from the days of slavery. It will be seen from this brief catalogue that Mrs. Barr's sympathies are with life rather than with classes of people. Her other works are "A Daughter of Fife" (1886), "The Squire of Sandle-Side," "Paul and Christina" (1887), "Master of his Fate" (1888), "The Last of the Macallisters " (1886), Between two Loves" (1886), "A Sister to Esau" (1890), and "A Rose of a Hundred Leaves" (1891). There is no other writer in the United States whose writings command so wide a circle of readers at home and abroad as Mrs. Barr's, and yet she is so much of a hermit that her personality is almost a mystery to the hundreds of thousands who are familiar with the creations of her intellect. Most of her time is spent at Cherry Croft, her home on the top of Storm King Mountain, at Cornwall-on-the-Hudson, N. Y. There she lives with her daughters, happy in her literary work and her social surroundings, and almost worshiped by the dwellers on the mountain, who are frequent visitors at the hermitage. Her career has been an admirable illustration of the capacity of woman, under stress of sorrow, to conquer the world and win success.
BARROW, Mrs. Frances Elizabeth, author born in Charleston, S. C., 22nd February, 1822. She is widely known by her pen-name, "Aunt Fanny."
BARRY, Mrs. Flora Elizabeth, concert and opera singer and musical educator, born in Paris, Maine, 19th September, 1836. Mrs. Barry is descended on the paternal side from William Harlow, who came to this country from England prior to 1637, and Richard Thayer, who immigrated into Massachusetts among the earliest Puritans. On her mother's side, the Watermans claim a direct line of descent from Alfred the Great, while the Maxims were of Spanish origin, dating back to the time of Philip and Mary. Mrs. Barry's father, Isaac Harlow, was a cultured gentleman of musical tastes. Her mother possessed talent as a writer and a musician. Mrs. Barry received a superior education and is still an earnest student in every department of learning, French, Italian, Spanish and German receiving careful attention. Her musical talent was the dominant one, and she early began the study of that art that she might make herself proficient as a vocalist and teacher. Her first appearances in public were with the Mendelssohn Quintette Club and the Händel and Haydn Society of Boston, in 1863. Later she studied with Luigi Vannucini, of Florence, Italy. Sacred music is her especial work, although successful in
